Dr. Doug Welch (Optical Astronomy: The "Read" Light District) is a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. His interest in observational astronomy began as a teenage member of the AAVSO and Doug is still an active participant in amateur astronomy activities.

As the most well-loved and venerable bandpass in the electromagnetic spectrum, light - optical photons - continues to supply a rich amount of information about planets, stars, galaxies and cosmology. In this illuminating talk, Doug will outline the ways in which we extract our understanding of the universe from light and the new and exciting tools which are becoming available to further this understanding.